Violets and Chrysanthemums

Chapter 1

( -<>- these little things are like switches between the POVs so please pay attention to them, anyway here we go!)

Hitoshi Shinsou hated birds. Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking. Birds? Why out of all animals does Hitoshi have a vendetta against birds? Well, he could go on and on about it really, "They're too noisy" "They're too colorful" "they eat worms, gross." But there was one thing he hated most about them. They are completely, and utterly, free. 

   As Prince, Hitoshi has been caged his whole life. Even with his fathers trying to give him as many freedoms as possible, Hitoshi is still constantly forced to be someone he isn't. Now, he's being forced to marry a strange Prince from the kingdom of Nabu. A prince that he has never once met. He knows that his kingdom has been in serious danger as of late, what with the LOV attacks, and their lacking military system. But still, a desperate alliance with another kingdom through a shallow marriage wasn't the answer. At least to him, it wasn't.

   So now here he is. Sitting on the edge of his terrace trying to focus all of his attention on an old apple tree on the edge of the gardens. The tree was ancient, and nearly dying, so you could imagine his surprise when watching a strange cloaked figure try and fail at climbing the rickety thing. He knew he should have called the guards to take this dunce away, but he couldn't bring himself to take this poor excuse of a thief seriously. So instead he did what anyone would do in this situation, and went down to meet them. 

-<>-

 Denki Kaminari is one stubborn son of a gun, and with him being a prince you could imagine how much trouble that stubbornness gets him into. Like when a friend makes fun of him for never having tasted an apple, he responds via a late-night visit to the palace gardens. But not his own palace gardens, no. Being thousands of miles away from his own castle, he has no choice but to sneak into Castle Magnolia, the palace where his future husband resides. Admittedly it wasn't one of his brightest decisions but he'd already gotten this far. 

 It's times like these when Denki wished he'd spent more time having fun and climbing trees when he was a child instead of doing stupid things like reading and making flower crowns. Because now he was faced with climbing a tree to reach the apple that meant oh so much for his ego, and he was brutally failing at it. It didn't help that the tree had little to no branches with only three apples hanging from the top. 

  He finally started getting somewhere on the burdensome tree when he heard the last thing he ever wanted to hear. 

"You aren't going to get anywhere if you don't have a foothold. And unfortunately, this tree is as barren of branches as a field laced with salt." 

 Kaminari froze. What was he going to do? Normally to be caught stealing from the crown was immediate execution, but in Kaminari's case, being the crown prince of Nabu, he'd probably just get a stern talking to and his books taken away. Still, this could be a very tricky predicament with the engagement being as fragile as it is. So his options are either to run... or to run.

So that's what he did, or at least tried to do before he felt a harsh tug on his cloak. "Woah, where do you think you're going? You wanted an apple didn't you?" The voice from behind him spoke. He had no other choice than to turn around and face the consequences. And so he did.

-<>-

 Shinsou couldn't believe that the idiot tried to run. He could easily call the guards and have this fool locked up in five seconds flat. The stranger spun in his grasp revealing only the bottom half of his face and blonde wisps of hair. "I'm sorry. I really shouldn't be here and all I wanted was an apple, I swear I mean no harm and I'm a stupid ignorant muttonhead, and please don't tell the guards. I'm just a simple fool who has no right to be here. and I-"

"Would you be quiet?" Shinsou cut off the stranger's rambling. "I'm not going to rat you out but in order for you not to get yourself caught, you might want to be a little more discreet."

The stranger looked up at Hitoshi revealing his face and the shock upon it. 

-<>-

 Kaminari just couldn't understand it. Why would whoever this person was, ever let a thief leave scot-free after attempting to steal from royalty? Well, it was just an apple, and he didn't even succeed in getting one, but nonetheless. "Why are you letting me go?" His voice lowered. "I just tried to steal from royalty, you work for the crown, don't you? Aren't you meant to sound some alarm or, in the very least, call for the guards?"

 The man in front of him made a face, an exceedingly confused and slightly amused one. A face that Kaminari would deem extraordinarily beautiful. Aside from the eyebags shadowing his face, and making it look like he hadn't slept a wink in months, every feature on his face was perfect in Kaminari's eyes. Of course, he would get caught outside the castle by a beautiful stranger two months before he was meant to marry. Just his luck. 

 But what really matters right now is the strange grin on the servant's face. It really looked as if this man had never smiled once in his life. 

-<>-

 Hitoshi found this situation quite laughable. A theft who clearly wasn't from around here, trying to steal an apple, and who can't even recognize him as the crown prince. 'Work for the crown' was such a misconception that Shinsou just had to grin. This idiot has no idea. 

 Shinsou met the stranger's honey-colored eyes and raised an eyebrow in question, "Would you like me to call the guards? Just seconds ago you were begging me not to." 

 The stranger's face contorted from shock to fear once more, "NO!" He whisper yelled, "Please don't. I just mean... Well, I thought it would take a bit more convincing. Not just a few pleading words and self-deprecation." he grinned.

"Well, you clearly aren't here to assassinate someone or steal actual valuables, you can't even climb a tree, so I see no danger in you being here. Or the point in calling the guards when I'd be in heaps of trouble for being here myself." Of course, that was a lie, but the stranger seems to believe it. 

  "I see. Why are you out here then?" The stranger's face did nothing to hide the curiosity in his eyes.

  Hitoshi didn't answer but instead took time to consider the stranger. Looking from his brown and intricately embroidered cloak to his soft uncalloused hands Hitoshi knew that this was no lowly servant trying to feed a starving family. So who was this person, and why of all things would they steal an apple? He wanted to know more about this stranger. So even if Shinsou knew this was a terrible idea, instead of shooing the boy away, he decided on a different route. He started on his way to the fields and beckoned the boy to follow. 

 "Come with me, let's talk somewhere more secluded, the guards will do a round through here in about ten minutes." 

... To Be Continued ...

(OK author's note time. As I said in the description this story will be nothing like my last, which also means I will not have a set update schedule. It might take days, weeks, or even months between chapters because I'm just writing when I feel like it. But I do think this story will end a bit quicker and it will sound a lot better grammatically than the last. So please enjoy.)